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Variety's Power Of Women: New York 2016

Source: Monica Schipper / Getty

One day Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o dropped a riveting and brave op-ed for the New York Times accusing Harvey Weinstein of unwanted sexual advances, the disgraced movie mogul is now speaking out against her allegations.

According to Deadline, the 65-year-old producer and film distributer says he has “a different recollection” of what allegedly happened between the two of them.

“Mr. Weinstein has a different recollection of the events, but believes Lupita is a brilliant actress and a major force for the industry,” the statement reads.

“Last year, she sent a personal invitation to Mr. Weinstein to see her in her Broadway show ‘Eclipsed’.”

Sigh.

Just in case you didn’t catch what just happened here, I’ll break it down: He is trying to undermine her claims by saying that because she allegedly invited him to see her in her Broadway debut last year, she couldn’t possible be telling the truth about being harassed. Because why would she be nice to a man if she didn’t feel safe with him?

Folks: Don’t fall for the okeydoke folks! There is no one way to react or respond when you are victim. And be clear: Lupita IS NOT lying.

US producer Harvey Weinstein

Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty

What’s also interesting about Weinstein’s newest statement is that for the 40-plus accusers—mostly white—who have come forward with allegations against him over the past month, he has mostly addressed those women as a group:

“Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein. Mr Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. Mr Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual.”

But when it comes to Lupita—the only Black woman to speak out—he seems to have no issue publicly singling her out.

This didn’t go unnoticed by Black Twitter:

As we previously reported, the 12 Years A Slave actress wrote that on two separate occasions Weinstein tried to feed her alcohol and sexually harass her. She said she felt “unsafe” being in his presence especially when he pressured her to massage him in his Connecticut home back in 2011.

Nyong’o ended her piece saying that she didn’t know this type of sexist and predatory behavior was so systematic in Hollywood. And since this was one of her first experiences in the industry and no one else had come forward, she thought she was all alone.

“I wish I had known that there were women in the business I could have talked to. I wish I had known that there were ears to hear me. That justice could be served. There is clearly power in numbers. I thank the women who have spoken up and given me the strength to revisit this unfortunate moment in my past.”

We stand with you Lupita!

Read Lupita’s New York Times op-ed in its entirety here

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Harvey Weinstein Has ‘Different Recollection’ Of Lupita Nyong’o’s Accusations  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com